#WIDN: Ripple Crop Top Worsted Test Knit for Jessie Mae Martinson
I recently had the extreme honor of helping to test knit the Ripple Crop Top Worsted by Jessie Mae Martinson of Jessie Maed Designs.
This excellent design is a simplified version of her Ripple Crop Top (definitely on my to-knit-ASAP list); a bit more fitted with a straightforward construction. Overall I’m so pleased with the way it worked up and fits on my body. Jessie’s designs are truly the simple and modern garments I want to wear every day.
For yarn I chose Malabrigo Rios in Valentina, the light blushy-mauvey-lilac of my dreams. I absolutely love working with Rios, so this was an easy choice for me!
To test knit my size Large, I purchased 4 skeins total and ended up using approximately 2 and 3/4.
The 3x3 ribbing pattern of the body makes for a super relaxing beginning to this knit.
The construction of the front V-neck and straps is very engaging to make, with simple and easy-to-follow instructions. One of my favorite parts of Jessie’s designs is her attention to thoughtful details, such as the finished edge on the neckline and selvedge edge for the arm holes, making it really easy to pick up for sleeves.
I didn’t have a size 6 (4.0mm) circular needle in 16”, and I’m not a big fan of the Magic Loop, so I went with my trusty DPNs to finish sleeves.
The pattern for the Ripple Crop Top Worsted is available today! Head on over to Jessie’s Ravelry page and grab a copy!
#WIDN: Recent FOs
I’ve been knitting for over 8 years now, and I’m embarrassed to say that beyond a hat or two I’ve never made much for myself. So I made a promise to myself at the start of this year that I would focus a majority of my knitting time to making selfish projects.
At a bit over halfway through the year, here’s what I’ve completed so far!
My first finished object of 2019 was the Ripple Bralette by Jessie Mae Martinson. What a fun and quick knit! I also learned a new i-cord technique that’s used for the straps.
I made the size small and was really happy with the fit, but I stupidly estimated strap length and didn’t try it on…so I was left with a bralette that was just a bit too tight and short in the straps. I ended up gifting it to my mom, who loves it and has now cast on one of her own!
Even though this one didn’t end up being for myself, I have plans to make at least another 3 of these (hopefully by the end of the year!)
My second finished object is the As If Tee by Shay Johnson. I was immediately obsessed with this design the first time I saw it, and I’m even more obsessed with my finished sweater.
For the body I used Berroco ‘Skye’ in Lyra and Tahki Stacy Charles ‘Luna’ for the mohair panels. The subtle sparkly gold lurex woven through the mohair is my absolute favorite part!
Next off my needles was the Soldotna Crop by Caitlin Hunter. I never thought I would ever have the patience to knit a colorwork sweater, let alone find a design that really spoke to me. But when I saw Soldotna for the first time, I just knew it was going to change me as a knitter!
I was incredibly surprised at how fast it knit up despite the complicated colorwork pattern!
I used a combination of Malabrigo 'Arroyo' in Fucsia, Plomo, Pearl, and Prussia Blue.
If you look really closely, you can see I made one mistake in the colorwork! (Can you find it?) When I discovered the mistake I was so far along I couldn’t bear to rip back to fix it, so I figured I would “erase” with some duplicate stitch after blocking. I’ve since decided that it’s a lesson in wabi-sabi!
About halfway through Soldotna, I was thrilled to be chosen to help test knit a new design by Jessie Mae Martinson, the Ripple Crop Top Worsted. I already have the original Ripple Crop Top on my selfish knitting list, so when the opportunity arose to help test the worsted-weight version, I jumped on board! I’m so happy with the cut and fit of this little sweater.
I used approximately 2 and 2/3 skeins of Malabrigo ‘Rios’ in Valentina.
More details coming Thursday with the release of the pattern!
And most recently, I finished a super-cute Steffi Headband by Morgan Woltersdorf! I made this using some scrap Malabrigo Rios, sized down to a US 7 (4.5mm) needle, and whipped it up in about 40 minutes. This is an awesome stash-buster and I will definitely make a few more of these!
#WIDN: Test Knit for Park Williams of ParkNKnit
i recently finished up another test knit for an incredibly lovely and talented knitwear designer, park williams of parknknit! park has designed some truly knockout sweaters, my personal favorite being (and currently in my selfish knitting queue) the aquamarline. so when she put out a testing call for her new scrappy scarf design, Cable scraps, i jumped on board knowing it would be the perfect project to warm me up for aquamarline.
i tend to wear plain basic colors, so i originally envisioned making this scarf using various grays as a base and mixing in other neutral shades. once i got going however, i was reaching for every colorful scrap in my stash to mix in.
i ended up being about 1/2” off gauge, most likely because of my yarn combos, but since i love big, oversized scarves i decided to go for it. this pattern is very simple and easy to follow, but park encourages you to use up a bunch of scraps and change colors as often as you like which makes it so incredibly addicting and fun to knit. seriously, i had a hard time putting this project down.
i absolutely love the end result. my scarf is so big and soft and warm! i particularly like the cable design running down the middle, and i think it helps blend in the color changes and make them look more fluid.
go purchase the pattern for cable scraps on ravelry here and follow park on instagram to follow along with her amazing designs!
#WIDN: Aroha Knits 5 Shawls 5 Days Challenge
I have followed Frenchie, the incredible designer behind Aroha Knits, on Instagram for many years and every time the 5 Shawls 5 Days challenge rolled around I would get major FOMO. The mini shawls are just so damn cute! But by the time I would see them on my feed, I would feel discouraged from starting since I was already behind.
This year however, I happened to see an announcement from Frenchie about the start of the challenge. how serendipitous! I have mentioned many times that my goal for this year is to expand my skills, knit the patterns of other designers, and try to connect more with the online knitting community. So I didn’t think too hard about whether i could easily understand the new skills or if i could fit one more project per day for a week into my schedule. I just signed up!
If you’re not familiar with this challenge, it’s a 5 day exercise in learning the various basic shawl shapes by knitting mini versions of them. Each day of the challenge, Frankie emails out a simple and easy-to-follow pattern for a different shawl shape. You can use whatever yarn and needles you have lying around, and she encourages you to knit for about 30 minutes to keep it a quick and fun exercise.
On day 1 I made the Triangle Shawl, using some scrap lion brand wool-ease in rose heather. this was my first introduction to the garter tab cast on! Because I prefer and habitually reach for them I knit this mini shawl on size US 6 double-pointeds, though if I made the triangle shawl again I would definitely use circulars. I also learned the hard way that I should have bound off a bit looser, as I had a hard time getting this one to block nice and sharp and flat. still, I am pleased with my result!
having learned my lesson from the triangle shawl, i dug out a size US 6 circular for the crescent shape shawl on day 2. I also decided to step up the yarn game and picked some scrap malabrigo rios in color pearl. this was a super fun shape to knit .
I fell a little behind on day 3, and ended up having to make the asymmetrical shawl on day 4. this is my version made in some scrap malabrigo rios in fuchsia, leftover from my recent hat commission. this shape was fun to make also, as I didn’t exactly know how the shape would come together until I started knitting it.
after i finished the day 3 asymmetrical, i cast on the day 4 shawl shape, the 3/4. this shape is an expansion of the triangle shape from day 1 and super fun to knit (i think i like working with multiple yarn-overs!).
i got excited on the last day of the challenge because shape #5, the square shawl, calls for double-pointed needles! to stay consistent and celebrate the completion of the challenge i decided to reach into my stash and used a bit of rios in the beautiful colorway aniversario to make the square.
how cute are all 5 of my mini shawls!?
this was such a fun challenge both in terms of learning new techniques and fitting small, fun projects into my busy schedule. except for the asymmetrical and 3/4 shawls (days 3 & 4) that i knit in free time during the afternoon of day 4, i made the rest of the shawls at the end of my days around 8-10pm. deciding to take on learning new skills at night after a long day was challenging at times, as on a few days i messed up early and had to frog and start over. but ultimately, the construction of these basic shapes is simple and repetitive (in the best way), and after understanding the set-up each shawl worked up easily. i actually found myself debating whether or not to exceed the 30-minute time limit on many occasions because the patterns are so fun!
the best part is that Frenchie has built an amazing community around her challenge where people are sharing their work. since i was a first-time shawl knitter and challenge participant, i followed each pattern exactly and didn’t stray from the basic shape and design. But following along with the #5shawls5days hashtag on instagram (She also hosts a group on facebook) is so inspiring! So many people created such incredible mini shawls using fun stitch patterns, mini cables, frilled edges, and different bind-offs. basically, this is a fun challenge for knitters and shawl makers of any skill level, and the simple patterns and mini shawl samples are a great way to try out potential new designs.
i am SO EXcited to tack up my beautiful mini shawls to my studio cork board, for sheer cuteness and future design inspiration! please check out frenchie’s incredible shawl (and more!) designs on ravelry, and be sure to follow her on instagram so you don’t miss the announcement for next year’s challenge!
#WIDN: Test Knit for paige parkin of the knit diaries
i recently had the pleasure of test knitting a new hat design for the incredibly talented paige parkin aka @knitdiaries! paige has designed a number of seriously cute and stylish sweaters (rainbow in the storm and piper are two of her designs that are VERY high on my to-knit list), so i was pretty excited to be involved in the testing group for her new slouchy ribbed hat, the make it fitted, make it slouch.
if you follow paige on instagram you know she has an undeniable talent for creating really beautiful marls, so i wanted to pull out something special from my stash to honor her new design. i chose a very recent acquisition, my first skein of primrose yarn co. adelaide in color paranormal. i chose a drops design fabel superwash merino in a simple navy blue (color 107) as a base.
i must say i’m not usually a swatch knitter, but i’ve been diligently doing it for test knits and i am enjoying my growing collection of beautiful swatches!
the basic construction of this hat is a simple 1x1 rib, which is kind of funny considering i just finished the 1x1 ribbed mawson hat! paige’s pattern asked for a circular needle, but since i didn’t have the correct size i didn’t think much of it and just grabbed my usual DPns.
paige wrote this pattern for all sizes, and in two variations: a fitted crown or a slouchy crown. as a big fan of slouchy hats (and versatility), i chose to test out the slouchy crown in the adult small size.
to finish out the crown, i learned two new techniques: german short rows and a 3 needle bind off. for the german short rows, i definitely wished i had purchased the correct size circular as it got pretty confusing. but for the bind off, my dpns worked great!
i love the way my finished hat fits, and it has the perfect amount of slouch. i also love that i can fold up the brim to change up the look! the design is simple and excellent for both men and women, and combining two yarns together makes for endless color opportunities. i can’t wait to make another one and perfect my german short row skills!
download the pattern for make it fitted, make it slouch here, and make sure to follow paige on ravelry and instagram so you don’t miss any of her designs!